In doing so, he has again given grounds for concern about his mental acuity. His odd 13-minute monologue at a recent cabinet meeting, in which he appeared largely preoccupied with elaborately beautifying the meeting room, should have been warning enough. This surprising line of discussion draws attention to Trump’s alarming trend of impulsive and dangerous action. He has shown this dangerous behavior for more than a year on many public stages, from campaign rallies to televised press briefings.
At that same cabinet meeting, Trump bragged about his extraordinary talent for clearing china. To that end, he articulated a preference for frames over pictures. Though seemingly benign, his remarks put experts on guard, who were keenly aware of the new administration’s habit of going off the rails. This meeting was not an isolated occurrence. Similar actions have surfaced over and over again, leading medical professionals and lawmakers to sound the alarm about Trump’s mental state.
Harry Segal, a senior lecturer in Cornell University’s department of psychology, was another expert who weighed in on Trump’s behavior. He thinks it looks a lot like confabulation, which is when someone unknowingly makes up, distorts or misremembers memories. Asking for evidence to back up Trump’s claims is not being a “naysayer.” Like that time he claimed that his uncle, John Trump, taught infamous domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski at MIT—something thoroughly debunked that raises further concern over his mental condition.
Even some of his staunchest supporters have admitted that Trump often “misremembers” basic facts about his personal and presidential life. In a recent, unexpected exchange on the topic with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, he seemed to abandon that posture. Asserting that wind turbines are “killing us,” he delivered a long-winded rant on the evils of windmills, even demanding a halt to their construction here in the U.S.
Trump’s behavior has been rightly criticized by mental health professionals and political commentators alike. Richard A. Friedman, a professor of clinical psychiatry, stated, “Any fair-minded mental-health expert would be very worried about Donald Trump’s performance.” He explained that a patient demonstrating verbal incoherence and tangential thinking like Trump’s recent rhetoric would need to be assessed with a comprehensive neuropsychiatric evaluation. This initial step is important to rule out cognitive decline due to other cognitive illness.
Yet look who still is shoving these stories aside with his unprecedented behavior—Trump! His supporters maintain that he’s in best physical, mental shape. As Trump’s first personal physician, Ronny Jackson, dug in his heels and declared with gusto that Trump is “the healthiest president this nation has ever seen.” He insisted the ex-prez is “mentally and physically sharper than ever.” Dissenting views remain from specialists who warn against downplaying the behavior that the ex-president has displayed.
John Gartner, a psychologist who has studied Trump’s behavior closely, voiced his concerns about the trajectory of Trump’s mental health. He speculated that Trump’s decline would only worsen over that time period. “What we see are the classic signs of dementia,” he said, noting a significant decline from Trump’s past articulate self. “If you go back and look at film from the 1980s, he actually was extremely articulate… now he really has trouble completing a thought.”
This trend of unpredictable antics has been showcased at campaign events just recently. At one of these gatherings, Trump danced to the music for 40 minutes after a medical episode onstage. Fans and detractors alike remarked upon his penchant for going off script at length. He frequently veers off-prompt into irrelevant tangents, creating even more concern about his mental acuity.
Despite the criticisms and concerns from various quarters, Trump’s supporters remain steadfast in their defense of his mental sharpness. Liz Huston, a Republican political commentator and Trump surrogate, laughed off the criticisms as “partisan attacks.” She claimed that Republican talk about President Biden’s mental health is disingenuous. This is particularly true given the environment in which these evaluations happen.